Companies that raise their dividends each year enable you to beat inflation and maintain or improve your lifestyle over the long haul. The 16 dividend stocks below remain buys.

Stocks that regularly raise their dividends let you beat inflation. If you’re building your wealth, reinvest these dividends. If you’re a retiree, spend the growing dividends. Since we published our May 6 issue, 16 of The Investment Reporter’s Key stock buys have raised their dividends.

CAE Inc. (TSX─CAE) now pays 30 cents a share. This is up by 7.1 per cent. Its dividend yields a decent 1.9 per cent. This training company is what’s known as a ‘dividend aristocrat’. By our definition, this refers to a company that has raised its dividend for at least five years in a row.

C.I. Financial (TSX─CIX) now pays $1.38 a share, up by 4.5 per cent. It yields an attractive 5.1 per cent. This mutual fund firm is a dividend aristocrat.

High Liner Foods (TSX─HLF) now pays 52 cents a share. This is up by 8.3 per cent. This seafood firm yields a decent 2.9 per cent. It’s a dividend aristocrat.

Imperial Oil (TSX─IMO) now pays 60 cents a share. This is up by 7.1 per cent. The dividend yields a modest 1.5 per cent. Still, while most commodity producers cut their dividends, this integrated oil company raised its dividends. It’s a dividend aristocrat.

Jean Coutu Group (TSX─PJC.A) now pays 48 cents a share. This is up by 9.1 per cent. This drugstore chain yields a decent 2.3 per cent. It’s a dividend aristocrat that paid a special dividend in fiscal 2014.

Loblaw Companies (TSX─L) now pays $1.04 a share. This is up by four per cent. The grocery chain is a dividend aristocrat again. That’s because the company has raised its dividend each year since 2011. Loblaw, however, yields a modest 1.5 per cent.

Open Text Corp. (TSX─OTC) now pays 92 U.S. cents a share, up by 15 per cent. This tech company yields a decent 1.6 per cent. It has raised its dividend each year since it began paying them in fiscal 2014. It’s a buy for growth.

PFB Corp. (TSX─PFB) now pays 28 cents a share. This is up by a healthy 16.7 per cent. This manufacturer of insulation yields an attractive three per cent.

Quebecor Inc. (TSX─QBR.B) now pays 18 cents a share. This is up by a whopping 28.6 per cent. Still, this communications company yields only 0.5 per cent. After raising its dividend for two years in a row, we hope it eventually becomes a dividend aristocrat.

Sun Life Financial (TSX─SLF) now pays $1.62 a share. This is up by 3.8 per cent. It yields an attractive 3.6 per cent. This insurer has raised its dividend for two consecutive years. As with Quebecor, we hope that Sun Life continues to raise its dividend until it becomes a dividend aristocrat.

Thomson-Reuters (TSX─TRI) now pays US$1.36 a share. This is up by only 1.5 per cent. Then again, it has raised its dividend for 24 years in a row. This global provider of electronic information yields an attractive 3.3 per cent.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX─TD) now pays $2.20 a share. This is up by 7.8 per cent. This dividend aristocrat yields an attractive 3.9 per cent. TD has the least exposure to the oil industry. This should partly shield it against loans that could go sour.

Among U.S. Key stocks, Cardinal Health (NYSE─CAH) now pays $1.80 a share. This is up by a healthy 16.1 per cent. It yields a decent 2.3 per cent. This provider of healthcare products and services has raised its dividend for eight years in a row. Cardinal would qualify as a dividend aristocrat in Canada. But dividend aristocrats in the U.S. must have raised their dividends for at least 25 years in a row.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE─JNJ) now pays $3.20 a share. This is up by 7.8 per cent. This consumer products company yields a decent 2.8 per cent. It has raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE─PEP) now pays $3.01 a share. This is up by 7.1 per cent. This supplier of soft drinks and snacks yields an attractive three per cent. It has raised its dividend for 44 years in a row.

PPG Industries (NYSE─PPG) now pays $1.60 a share. This is up by 11.1 per cent. This coatings manufacturer yields a modest 1.5 per cent. This dividend aristocrat has increased its dividend for 45 consecutive years.